


Eyes on Fire

by lydiamartincan



Series: Building a family [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Angst with a Happy Ending, Daddy Derek, F/M, Female Stiles Stilinski, Lots of Angst, Panic Attacks, Teen Pregnancy, learning to be a family, mommy stiles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-06
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-23 18:30:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1575293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lydiamartincan/pseuds/lydiamartincan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles is eighteen when she finally has sex. She's eighteen and she's stupid for ever believing all those romance stories about how your entire life changes from something as trivial as losing your virginity. She thought there would be fireworks and a new lease on life that left her hand in hand with the person she thought she'd loved . How could she have ever expected it would leave her as just another statistic in the world of being another unlucky pregnant teenager?</p><p>The pain of heartbreak and the cold slap of sudden parenthood can't even begin to prepare her for what life will be like when she's forced to return back to Beacon Hills, a toddler on her hip, and has to face every thing she's feared for the past five years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is for the most part canon up until the end of 3B aside from Allison surviving. I just love her too much to let go, I'm not sorry. No, Kira isn't in this and I magically wove Scott and Allison back together. I have the back story for that but it didn't exactly fit into context here anywhere so if you're really curious just feel free to ask. Also, as much as I love the idea of Derek in a soccer mom car I left in the camaro because I just can't seem to part with it. This is teen and up for mostly all the cursing in it. Sorry, no smut in this part of the collection.  
> All that aside, I hope you enjoy!

Pale fingers gripped the edges of the marble counter top, nails trying desperately to dig straight through the polished stone. The tiny pink symbol mocked her from where it appeared, laughing at her stupidity and her fucked up unlucky streak that life just seemed to enjoy messing with. 

“Stiles! Stiles, what’s going on!?” 

The one time in her eighteen years of living she had had sex and this was the result. She had used a condom just like all those damned sex-ed classes taught her to! No matter how spur of the moment everything had been she thought she had been smart about it. She had always applauded herself on her ability to ignore her body’s urges and go through life safely and the one time she lets it all go this happens. Here was life, slapping her in the face once more. 

"Stiles!?" 

It wasn’t fair! Why had this happened to _her_? The amount of times she had been forced to listen to Scott and Lydia drone on about sex and none of them ever had to deal with this. Allison and Lydia had never cried over that stupid pink positive symbol. 

Stiles could hear Scott’s voice, pleading with her, yelling to just _tell me what the hell’s going on_ , but the roar of rushing blood and her pounding heart practically canceled out everything else around her. 

“I’m… I’m pregnant.” As soon as the words left her mouth the panic that had been building up in her chest reached its full strength; clenching her lungs in a vice as she heaved into the sink, gasping for air and clutching at her shirt. 

The phone that sat beside the test was a mess of noise that she couldn't process. She thought she could hear more than just Scott’s voice, but she could barely even comprehend his let alone whoever else was there. 

She clenched her eyes shut, reaching down once more to grip at the bathroom counter; forcing herself to drag in uneven breaths, holding tight to the reflexive memory of the breathing techniques Melissa had taught her so many years ago. She was a little rusty with them, it had been years since she needed to use them and her lungs were still struggling to just fucking work. She hadn't had one this bad since just after the Nogitsune. That was two years ago. 

For years she’d fought off panic attacks with the help of the pack. Of Scott and Lydia, and Derek, even. She always had someone there to hold her hand and to focus on, to match the gasping breaths with. 

But here, she only had herself in the tiny cramped apartment. There was nobody this far north in California to run their fingers through her growing hair, or smile at her when she finally got a full breath in through her throat. 

“Stiles, focus on me. Okay, listen, your dad, he had a salad for lunch yesterday! Without anyone even telling him to. He didn’t even get the extra dressing! He did it on his own and he didn’t pick out the tomatoes.” Allison’s voice flooded through the speaker phone, filling the room with rushed stories of the sheriff’s commitment to finally crack down on himself without his daughter there to badger and poke at him. Stiles tried to focus on how her voice dipped and dragged on, barely processing the words as her eyes snapped open and she watched her chest rising and sinking dramatically in the mirror. 

It took a few minutes and by the time Stiles could breathe comfortably Allison had moved on to telling Stiles things she remembered that they had done over the summer together. She was regaling the tale of how her, Stiles, and Isaac had spent hours wrapping Scott’s room in tin foil while he had been at work, only to have him come home for lunch and ruin everything. 

The brunette cracked a smirk at the memory. She could remember perfectly how Scott had gone from horribly confused, to infuriated, to downright laughing on the floor at the sight of Isaac practically wrapped from the waist up in the metallic wrapping. Allison had said it would be easier to roll everything out already, and from then on they had just laid it out all over Isaac for better access. 

“--… Stiles?” 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m.” She cut off, grabbing the phone and slumping down onto the toilet, wiping away at the tears that lingered on her cheeks. 

“Stiles. You have to tell him.” Scott’s voice returned, hesitant and quiet. Stiles shook her head, pressing her free palm to her forehead, feeling at the sweat that began to gather. 

“No--. No, I-.” 

“Yes, Stiles! You can’t just keep something like this a secret—“ 

“Yes I can!" She all but hissed. "He left, Scott. You call him then, maybe he’ll fucking answer!” The line was quiet, and once again Stiles was only left listening to her own ragged breathing. She stopped, closing her mouth and forcing herself to breathe through her nose. “I’m sorry.” 

“No, no.” Allison, this time. “Stiles, we. I’m sorry this is happening, okay? But, you can’t do this by yourself.” Something in the other girl’s tone had a sudden flare of anger rising in her chest. “I mean, you’ll have us. And your dad, hell, Melissa too. But Stiles you have to tell him.” 

Another long pause ensued, and Stiles knew they were just waiting for her to snap or start up again with another panic attack. Instead she just sighed, clenched her teeth and pushed the hair back from her face. It was short still, just a pixie cut, but her bangs had gotten long at this point, sometimes falling right into her eyes. 

“Fine.” Despite her best efforts her voice still shook. “Fine.” Stiles repeated with a little more conviction. 

She could practically feel Scott's sigh on the other end. 

“We’ll be right here, Stiles. I promise. Call us back as soon as you get him.” Stiles ended the call, taking a few more seconds to just stare across the counter again. 

Her finger hesitated over his name, thumb twitching and her palms sweating when she finally pressed the little green call button and held the phone up to her ear. It rang once, twice, a third time. 

“The voicemail box of the person you are trying to reach-“ 

She hung up, squeezing the phone between her fingers and biting back down on a curse. Again. 

“The voicemail box-“ 

Again. 

“The voicemail-“ 

“FUCK!!” The phone bounced off the wall, crashing down to the floor with an audible crack. Stiles stood up, biting hard enough at her bottom lip that she could taste the familiar metallic tang of blood. She glared daggers at the test before snatching it up and breaking it in half before throwing it into the trash can. 

Fine. She could do this. She could be a mother on her own. Fuck him. Fuck him and everything he fucking stood for! How could he just screw her and leave like that? Skip town again without so much as a note, a text, anything! 

She didn’t need him. She didn’t need him to be a good mother to their child. He would never see a damn hair on the kids head if she had anything to say about it! 

Derek could rot in hell for all she cared.


	2. Settling in. Not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow-zah! Glad to see people are enjoying this already. I actually have about 80% of this story actually written already, so I'm hoping to keep the updates quick.  
> This is a bit of a long one. It's a little over 6k but there was a lot to touch up on and explain in this chapter. I would say sorry but we all know it would most likely be a lie.  
> So without further ado, here is chapter 2!

“Mommy, where are we?” The little voice piped up from the backseat, the familiar sound of fiddling paper following shortly after. 

“We’re in Mommy’s home town, honeybee, we’re going to see pop-pop.” Immediately the backseat was a flurry of activity as Laura practically chucked her copy of Buzzy the Bumblebee and tried to throw herself at the window. In that moment Stiles thanked whatever deity, and Deaton, for the mountain ash soaked harnesses of her daughter’s car seat. 

“Are we going to get’ta see his house?” Stiles didn’t have to look back to know the big smile that would be stretched across the four year olds face. She answered the smile with one of her own before humming her answer. 

“But, only if you promise to be on your best behavior, okay? That means no claws on the furniture.” Laura made a noise of agreement before settling back into her seat. 

For five years Stiles had managed to avoid Beacon Hills like the plague it was to her. She had stayed in Alameda County for all of her time in college, even summer and holiday breaks. Scott, Allison, Lydia, her father, Melissa, even Deaton, had made the six hour trip up to see her or Laura. They never questioned her or prodded her to just _come home, already_ because they all knew no matter how much they begged and pleaded Stiles would shoot them down with just a look or some sarcastic comment about _gas prices these days for single mothers? No thank you!_

She was grateful for it, really. The entire gang had made the trip up when Stiles went into labor two weeks early. It was grueling and took 13 hours and for the first five there was nobody there with her but it was all in the past. Her Father and Melissa both had ran into the delivery room when they finally made it and from then on it was a piece of cake. 

Not really, but she could change the memory if she tried hard enough. 

Nobody ever said anything to her about Derek and she never bothered to ask anymore; around her sixth month of pregnancy Scott had called to tell her how he and Cora had returned to the small town and they had spent about five minutes in complete radio silence before Stiles busted out laughing. She had then on to talk about how she was already the size of a planet and that they could go fuck themselves. He was nothing more than a printed name on Laura’s birth certificate at this point. During the first three months of her pregnancy she spent countless nights crying over everything but she stuck to her guns. She called maybe a dozen more times after the first day, but of course got nothing in return. 

She had so many texts drafted that ranged from **_hey! Just thought you should know I’ve maybe got our love child in my uterus!_** All the way to **_Fuck you and your stupid broken condom, pay me child support or go fall in a pit of wolfsbane._** But no matter how long she would stare at each text she never sent them. 

Lydia, Allison, and Scott were good. Despite still being the McCall pack, Derek and Cora included, they never breathed a word about Laura to anyone. Well, not that she knew of. She had yet to get angry voicemails or threatening e-mails so she assumed she was in the clear still. Of course the same could be said for Melissa, Deaton and her father. They were the adults in the situation after all and they all had respected her wishes. However, that apparently didn’t stop her dad from pulling over Derek and giving him a speeding ticket anytime he got the chance. 

Derek never called her to complain about it, so she never told him to stop. 

Having a werewolf for a daughter was hard enough, she had never even thought about the possibility of a surrounding pack to have claimed territory where she lived. But for once it would seem luck had been on her side. The pack was--… nice wasn’t the right word. Sympathetic towards her. They let her and Laura live in their territory and even let Laura run with them on full moons when she was a little older. 

Stiles would swear up and down it had nothing to do with their alpha Izzy and how she was always caught making heart eyes at Stiles whenever they were in the same room. She continued to tell herself it was just a werewolf thing, a need to protect such a young pup. That was it. Nothing more. 

After all, it wasn’t as if Scott could leave his own pack on a full moon to just visit a human like Stiles. He had his own duties as an alpha now and Stiles would never ask him to leave, despite knowing how fast he could just drop everything and run up to them. Scott was a good friend, her best friend, and she was his. 

Which was why she never asked him to leave them. 

At eighteen Stiles had been given the money she was promised from her mother’s life insurance. It was only thanks to that that she could continue to live outside of Beacon Hills and go to school, mostly online courses though, all while she has an infant practically glued to her hip. She could afford Nanny’s and babysitters for the more stressful semesters. 

Over all, Stiles never had to really worry over Laura’s shifts until recently. She got restless on full moons, sure. But only since her last birthday did she actually shift. Izzy had assured her that it was normal, usually around four or five the shifts started to come through. That was when The Berkley pack themselves had actually offered to take turns watching Laura if Stiles had a class or a lecture to attend. Izzy was the main ‘ _pup-sitter_ ’ but a few of the betas did it as well. 

It was hard to tell them she was leaving but they understood why. Stiles was finally finished with college. She had a degree in Informational Technology and a minor in Graphic Design. She could basically work and live anywhere! But her funds had already been stretched enough and there was only one place she had family to fall back on if the need came. And that place just happened to be with her father in Beacon Hills. 

No matter how much she hated the town, it was the only place she could go now. It wasn’t her home, not by far. But it would have to serve as a bypass until she found one. 

“Are Aunt Al’son and Uncle Scott here?” 

“Yep, they are.” Speak of the devil. 

Stiles grinned as she pulled up to her childhood home. Scott and Allison stood on the front porch, each with a beer in hand as her father emerged from the front door. The couple looked as if they were in the middle of one of their heated discussions, a tension set in Allison’s shoulder until they rolled up. Scott turned up and waved over towards the car. 

“Here we are, baby-cakes! Ready?” Stiles turned to her daughter, unsure herself whether she was actually directing the last part at Laura or herself. 

Either way, Laura fidgeted with the straps of her seat. “Yes!” She shouted, grunting as she tried to pull herself free. 

Stiles sat for another moment in her seat, car turned off and keys gripped tightly in her hands. Her eyes raked over her daughter as she categorized her again. Over and over she ran through her features in her head, picking out what was her and what was him. Laura had her upturned nose and the dotting of freckles and moles over her face and body, the same style of large curly hair and pale complexion. But everything else was Derek’s. The eyes, the coloring of her hair, the cheek bones, lips, and jaw line. 

Her daughter was beautiful, there was no question about it. She was adorable and perfect and amazing and the light of Stiles’ dim life; but there was still always the low stab of pain in her gut whenever she recalled just how familiar the green and brown hues of her eyes were. 

“Mommy?” Laura was staring at her now, mouth turned down in a frown and her brows pulled in tight. God, it was terrifying how much she looked like Derek sometimes. 

“Sorry, Laur’.” She forced a smile, before unbuckling herself and sliding out of the car, rounding the front and striding over to the passenger side. The small welcome committee was already there staring at Stiles with mixed looks of relief and apprehension. She only smiled again, moving to snatch up Allison in a tight hug. 

Allison and Stiles had been friends in high school but it was mostly just because of the pack and Scott. They were never close like Scott and Stiles, but they were friends. Over the years though Allison had become something like a fixed point in Stiles and Laura’s life. Allison and Lydia made the most trips up to visit. Long weekends and extended breaks. They always giggled over crappy horror movies and bad kung-fu dubs together. Hell, she had been the one to come up during spring break to watch Laura while Stiles had to leave for an over-night trip to take care of a session for one of her last courses. 

She moved on then to Scott, wrapping him up in her arms and squeezing tightly. She could feel him smiling into her shoulder, before he pressed a light kiss to the side of her head. Scott was an alpha. The alpha of the pack she was trying to run away from essentially. She knew what it meant for him to lie to them where Stiles was concerned and she could never thank him enough for doing it for her. 

Her father pulled her in then with more force. Stiles fought off the tears that pricked at the back of her eyes and focused on the familiar scent of her father. Leather and gun oil. It always clung to his clothes no matter how hard Stiles and him fought to wash his entire closet. When she told him what happened in the beginning it was easy to tell just how livid he was even over the phone. He ranted and raved about how he would hunt down Derek himself for not only knocking up his eighteen year old daughter, but leaving her in the dust in the same forty-eight hour period. It had taken hours for her to talk him down, explain how she was a strong independent woman who didn’t need no man to raise a kid. 

It wasn’t easy, during the entire pregnancy when every time morning sickness hit her or a painful contraction that had her father yelling about dropping everything and heading up there himself. Stiles was just happy her pregnancy was routine and not straight out of some horror movie considering her kid was a fucking were wolf. 

“Welcome home, kid.” He said as he finally pulled back, hand coming up to cup her cheek. That familiar ache resonated in Stiles’ chest but she brushed it off turning to watch as Allison pulled Laura from her seat. The toddler started talking a mile a minute, wanting to fill Allison and Scott in on the great road trip her and mommy had had on their way here. She talked about the rest stop in Fresno and the waitress they had at that diner in Mariposa County, backtracking a few times when she forgot a detail and skipping over sections entirely. 

All the while the group moved from the sidewalk and up into the house Laura continued to talk and rant. Allison, bless her heart, smiled and nodded when needed to and even gasped her outrage at when the accursed yellow colored pencil snapped in half halfway through the trip. 

Suddenly, once the door was closed, Laura trailed off. She wiggled out of Allison’s arms and began to sniff about the house, smelling and touching everything she could get her tiny hands on. 

Stiles smiled fondly while Allison practically cooed. The sheriff sighed, a gentle smile still present on his lips. 

“I’ll never get used to that.” _That_ being that his only granddaughter was a werewolf, who liked to smell couch cushions she wasn’t familiar with and constantly touch to mingle her scent with whatever else she found in the house. 

Stiles chuckled, dropping a hand onto his shoulder. “Yeah, well, try and start, old man. You’re going to see us a lot from now on.” She grinned at him before bounding after her daughter to grab her up and spin her around. 

Laura let out a shriek of laughter before settling in her mother’s arms. “You hungry?” The toddler nodded, snuggling her face into the crook of Stiles’ neck as she moved towards the kitchen. 

“The moving truck on its way?” Scott piped up, following after them. 

“Uh, yeah! It should drop everything off tomorrow afternoon.” Stiles sat Laura on the counter before rooting through the bag on her hip. She pulled out a snack bag of pretzel sticks and handed them over to Laura’s grabby hands. It was a little late for snack time, but Stiles didn’t want to let Laura just wait around till dinner. She knew how fussy the girl got when she was hungry. It was usually, now-a-days, a lot of claws and screaming. 

“That’s good. You’re staying here for the night, right?” The sheriff stepped up around the counter, petting at Laura’s hair as she munched down on two pretzel sticks at once. Stiles only nodded before grabbing one of the celebratory beers out of the fridge. 

“Your house smells nice, pop-pop.” Laura said suddenly, smiling up at her grandfather. He smiled before leaning down to place a kiss on the top of her head. 

“Lydia says she’ll stop by sometime tomorrow, just a heads up.” Allison leaned on the counter beside Stiles, bumping their shoulders together. Stiles snorted around a sip of beer. 

“Great, so she can tell me how to decorate my house?” Allison smiled taking a swig of her own. 

“You know she’ll try to convince you that pink is the perfect color for a living room.” Scott joined in, leaning now on her other side. 

“Please.” Allison began, rolling her eyes. “Her new color of choice is sea foam green.” The three of them giggled and laughed again like they were back in high school. It was nice having them around, most of the time it was just Stiles, Laura, and sometimes members of the Berkley pack. Having familiar faces that she essentially grew up with was always something like a blessing to her. It calmed the constant whirlwind in her mind. 

After about an hour of catching up and excellent story telling from Laura, it was down to just Scott and Stiles standing in the kitchen. Stiles had pushed the others out into the living room while she was to prepare dinner, a gesture on her part she liked to still do, but Scott had been persistent in helping. 

There was still a great pink elephant in the room that none of them bothered to touch while Laura was just feet away. It wasn’t like it mattered though, even from the living room they both knew she could hear them just as well. That is until Scott pulled the baby monitor from the diaper bag and switched it onto white noise. 

It was a little trick she had learned from Izzy and the others which she now desperately hated herself for ever introducing to Scott. 

They spend a few minutes just chopping vegetables to the strangely gentle lull of the baby monitor. 

“Stiles.” 

“I know.” She continued to quarter the potatoes, periodically dumping them into the pan. Scott was looking at her at this point, a frown evident on his features and a crease in his brow. 

“We’re all here for you, Lydia, Allison and I. Even Jackson and Isaac if you want them to be—“ 

“But.” Stiles turned away from him, pulling the steaks out of their packaging and slamming them down onto the tray. 

“ _But_ ,” Scott went on, dumping the chopped carrots and celery into the same pan as the potatoes. “now that you two are here you realize it’ll be harder if you intend to keep Cora and Derek away? Laura’s a wolf, her presence won’t go unnoticed by the rest of the pack.” He paused and Stiles could see him glaring down at the counter top. “Neither will yours.” 

A heavy sigh escaped Stiles, her shoulders slouching and her eyes closing. “I know.” She repeated, brown eyes opening once again as she reached over to stick the pan and tray into the stove. “And I know how much it means that you guys did this much for me.” Stiles forced a grin once again, reaching up to run a hand through her hair. It was getting long, already dangling below her bust line. She couldn’t even remember the last time she had gotten it cut. “So, thank you.” 

“Stiles,” Scott was over to her in seconds, pulling her in for another tight hug. “we love you. I love you. I get it, I do, okay?” The conversation was eerily familiar. Not that different from the one they had the first night Scott had come to visit her. It tugged at something in her heart. “Whatever you do, whatever you want to do, I want to help. But just—if something happens try not to murder anyone, alright? Try to actually use your head?” He pulled back just enough to smile down at her. 

She could hear what he actually meant, of course she could. What kind of friends would they be if they couldn’t read between the lines they laid out for one another? 

_When Derek comes around try not to kill him or yourself, please. Try and actually listen for once._

Stiles nodded, before shoving him away playfully. “Yeah, yeah. You know me, Miss. Rational Thinking.” Scott snorted before flipping off the noise, and slinging an arm around her, dragging her into the living room with the others. 

“Mommy! Pop-pop says we’re going to see Doctor Deat’n tomorrow.” Laura scrambled off the couch, running over to Stiles and grabbing at her pant leg. Kneeling down, Stiles reached out to smooth a hand down her wild black hair. She smiled, rocking forward to press a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. 

“That’s right, baby. Deaton’s got some things for us.” In a second Laura was smiling widely and throwing her little arms up in the air. Stiles tried and failed to return the excited smile; ignoring the anxiety that had been bubbling and pooling in her gut ever since they left Berkley was getting harder and harder by the second. Scott was right, no matter what happened Laura would always have them. 

Whether Derek would be a jerk and snub them off if—when he found out, or if he would yell at Stiles for keeping it from him and actually want to be a father, it didn’t matter. Laura still had her mother, grandfather, aunts, and her uncle Scott. She didn’t need a father to have a loving family. 

  


Deaton smiled at them when they finally rolled into the clinic at around ten the next morning. He crouched down and held a hand out to Laura, who took it in earnest and gave her best ‘big person shake’. 

“Good morning, Laura. Did you have fun yesterday?” He asked once the girl finally let him have his hand back. Laura nodded, moving a chunk of dark hair from her face. “

Yeah! We got to see lots’a cool stuff but we were stuck in mommy’s car _all_ day.” 

“I see. I’m happy you’re here then.” Deaton nodded, keeping the gentle smile on his face even as he stood up to address Stiles from where she stood just behind Laura, subconsciously running a hand down her daughters head. “Stiles. Good to see you in Beacon Hills again.” 

Her jaw ticked as she fixed him with her own grin. “Got’a say it was the last place I ever thought I’d be.” 

“Understandable.” Deaton moved aside, motioning for the two to head back into the examination room. 

It wasn’t just because of Laura and the whole mess with that that she wanted to avoid this town. It was so much more. 

Memories from her time as the Nogitsune always haunted her, whether it was in her dreams or violent flashbacks that shook her a little bit harder each time. Running the sword through Scott, setting the bomb in her father’s office, and just killing so many people. But it wasn’t just that, it was everything; from the alpha pack, Scott’s turning, to the whole thing with the Kanima and Matt. Being beaten senseless by Gerard and his goons. Her mother’s death. There was so much negativity in her life that was tied to this town. It mixed with everything good she remembered and tainted all of it. This town was like her own personal brand of hell and no matter how much older she got, it was always like a black mark branded in her brain. 

“Unfortunately I’m a little low on mountain ash at the moment, but I’ve got everything else you asked for.” 

“What happened with the mountain ash?” Stiles had requested enough that she could burn it into the window frames of the new house, just a precaution that she supposed came with the fear of knowing what was out there that could possibly get her daughter. Were wolf or not, Laura was only four. If anything, _anything_ came at her while Stiles wasn’t with her she wasn’t strong enough to protect herself just yet. 

Apparently for that kind of project though you needed more than just a handful and a sense of belief. 

“The pack had a bit of a territory issue last week. They drained my supply.” He offered no other explanation, gathering up the small charms he had told Stiles about. “Not to worry though, I’ll have Scott drop it off later this week when I get a new batch.” She nodded, watching as Laura wandered about the room, looking at the different posters of animals and diagrams. 

“Doctor Deat’n, how come you gots so many pictures?” She asked from where Stiles could see her struggling to read something about heart worms. Deaton turned before smiling again. When Stiles was younger the calm energy that practically oozed from Deaton had given her a bit of the creeps. It still does, sometimes, but it doesn’t seem to faze Laura at all. He was practically her favorite person. 

“So the walls aren’t so boring. Would you rather see a poster of a cat or a blank blue wall?” The question seemed to make Laura pause. Her world tilting at the severity of the question by the look she gave him. Stiles had to bite back a laugh. 

“I like blue but I like kitty cats more.” She finally answered. Deaton nodded before reaching into one of the jars and pulling out something that looked a lot like a lollipop and oh god Stiles was going to kill him. 

He kneeled down and held out the sweet like an offering which Laura quickly accepted with a _thank you_. 

“Are kitties your favorite animal?” He asked as he returned to the task at hand. Stiles leaned forward, hands braced on the examination table as Laura unwrapped the candy and stuck it into her mouth. 

“No, I like sloths more. Did you know there’s six kinds of them?” Laura answered around her lollipop, clambering up to sit in one of the chairs in the corner. Sloths. How did she ever come to have such a weird kid? 

Oh, right. 

Deaton let out a huff of air which could be taken for a laugh of some kind. “Really? Do you know the names of all of them?” 

Laura shook her head, pulling the sucker from her mouth with a loud _pop_. 

“Not yet, but mommy says she’ll help me learn them all before all the boxes in the house are gone.” Deaton turned the smile then onto Stiles who only shrugged back. 

“Lydia bought her a whole book on the things.” Stiles answered as if that was all the explanation needed. 

Deaton brought over a bag then, dropping it onto the table in front of her. She eyed it briefly before finally giving in and looking inside. All the little charms were there. A remake of the dream catcher Deaton had given to her when she first left for college, the original had broken sometime over last Christmas, a second smaller one for Laura and a few positive energy charms to hang around the yard. They looked like normal porch decorations. Then there was a wooden wind chime that had different sorts of carvings and wooden pendants hanging down around it. Over the phone, Deaton had told her this would help to ward off any sort of bad spirits that might threaten their home. Or at least that’s what the Native Americans had believed, apparently. 

She clutched the bag, turning up to see Deaton watching her with a frown. Stiles smirked, tying the bag shut. “Thank you, Deaton. I know it was a lot to ask for this stuff—“ She cut off when he held up a hand. 

“It’s no trouble, Stiles. Really. I’m just glad to have you back. At least now you two are within reasonable driving distance.” He smiled again, placing his hands down on the table. 

Stiles chuckled, looking down once again at the bag. “Yeah, thanks for that too.” Her eyes turned back over to Laura who had stuck the candy back into her mouth and was currently busy sniffing at a box of rubber gloves. 

“It’s no problem.” When she turned back Deaton was watching Laura as well, a gentler smile stretched lightly over his face. 

  


After a few more explanations about where exactly she should hang the wind chime, Stiles found herself and Laura back at the house. Laura sitting on the lawn with Lydia, playing what she thinks is a rather odd game of Barbie hairdresser if the mess of clips on Lydia’s hair is anything to go by, while Stiles directs the movers where everything goes and what furniture is for what room. Lydia looks up at her every now and then, her careful mask cracking a little bit more each time. Stiles could swear, if she didn’t know better, Lydia was a were wolf herself by the way she seemed to tune into whatever Stiles was feeling like she could smell it. 

Stiles hung the wind chime up a few feet to the left of the front door, leaving it to dangle over the porch and swing carelessly in the early summer breeze. 

They don’t have much. A few boxes of clothes each, a handful of boxes filled with Laura’s toys and other supplies, a couple boxes of knick knacks and barely enough furniture to fill the house. After spending five years in a college student’s apartment, it was a little over whelming to move all of her and Laura’s things into an actual house. A house that’s much more than just a living room, kitchen, bathroom and two very tiny bedrooms. Stiles had intended for the second shoe-box room to be used if any members of the pack ever wanted to come stay with her, but of course that changed almost immediately. 

The house wasn’t huge, it was enough for the two of them and while Stiles had done most, okay all, of her house hunting online it was a relief to see the place was basically exactly like the pictures on the website. She had heard so many horror stories of seeing pictures of perfect and pristine homes only to have families show up to absolute wrecks with missing pipe work and decaying floor boards. 

It only takes about three hours to move everything in the house and settle all the couches and beds the right way, so Stiles found herself in a bit of a haze still when it’s down to just her, Laura, and Lydia sitting in the newly appointed living room. 

“Hmm,” Lydia made a thoughtful noise, tapping a finger to her chin. “this place needs some color. Everything is just so… white. Plain.” The way Lydia said it made it sound like such a crime, which only had Stiles cackling. 

Allison had called it. 

“How about we unpack all the boxes before even thinking about painting, Lyds?” Stiles stood then to move towards the dining room where a bunch of the boxes had already begun to accumulate. Lydia had cut open all the boxes that read _HONEYBEE_ and left them all up in Laura’s room. “Sweet pea, why don’t you go start unpacking your room? You can get all your toys settled, then I’ll help you make your bed, okay?” She smiled over at Laura who perked up from her spot on the couch and bounded up the stairs towards her new bedroom. 

“So, here we are.” Lydia said with a tight smile, coming around to stand on the other side of the table, opening up one of the boxes labeled _KITCHEN_ and already pulling out wrapped up dishes and glasses. Stiles looked up from where she’d begun unwrapping the silverware, catching the calculated stare she’d apparently been receiving. 

“Here we are?” Stiles repeated more so like a question than the loaded statement Lydia made it out to be. Lydia only narrowed her eyes before looking back into the box. 

“How was Izzy with letting you two go?” 

“Good. I already told her when Laura was a few months old that we didn’t intend to stick around forever. I think she kind of knew that we would never really be in their pack?” She stood up, placing the sorted silverware into one of the draws and sliding it shut. “I think that’s what made it a little easier when they all had to say bye to us. Well, her.” 

Lydia smiled at her like she just answered every question she had ever asked the brunette before. 

“What?” 

“You’re still part of _our_ pack, you know that right? Laura too. Even if Scott wasn’t the alpha, I don’t think he’d let you run away that easily.” Under the cheeky smile and narrowed gaze Stiles could hear the ‘me either’ that hung just out of reach. 

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes right from her skull before answering. “Yeah, well, don’t expect us at any of the pack meetings anytime soon.” Sometime during the summer before senior year the pack had worked on fixing up the old Hale house, somewhere between the pixie infestation and the great ghoul rising, and they had been holding meetings there ever since. She wasn’t sure if it was still that way but it made the most sense. And, well, she honestly wasn’t ready to face the remaining Hales just yet. “I’m trying to hold out as long as I can.” 

For that she got a careful frown. Lydia stared at her for a few moments, green gaze working over her body and face with a hesitation Stiles hadn’t seen on her since they were teenagers. 

“I’ll hold your seat.” The red head gave her a tightlipped smile as she finished unpacking the first box, chucking the flattened cardboard into the corner. 

It went on like that for a while. An easy silence settled over the two as they worked to get most of the kitchen and dining room unpacked. They chatted periodically, recalling memories whenever they come across something Stiles had saved over the years, or Lydia filling her in on the packs latest supernatural battles. Sometime around five Laura made her way back down the stairs, her buzzy bee plushy clutched tightly in her left hand. 

“Mommy, I’m hungry.” She rubbed at her eyes, crossing the dining room to Lydia where she pulled the toddler up onto her lap. For the longest time Lydia had always insisted she would never touch a child without reason to or change a diaper even if the world was literally falling apart around her. When they had been forced to take child development senior year Lydia nearly pitched a fit about having to care for the robotic baby. Now watching Lydia circle her arms around Laura’s stomach allowing the little girl to lean back on her chest was almost heartwarming. 

Looking at the clock instantly had a frown forming on Stiles’ face. With the hassle of the move and all the boxes she had forgotten all about nap time and dammit all if Laura wasn’t probably going to fall asleep in whatever food Stiles placed in front of her. 

“Yeah? How about some pizza?” Laura made a noise, more like a grunt, from where she was settled in Lydia’s embrace. Stiles took that as an affirmative and reached for her cell phone, it’d be another day or so until they could actually start using the kitchen. Right now there was a box sitting on the stove and about another dozen empty ones stacked up in the corner. “You okay for pizza, Lyds?” 

Stiles waited to put the phone up to her ear, turning her gaze back to where Lydia was unwrapping one of the only wine glasses Stiles owned. She took her sweet time doing it before pointing a perfectly manicured nail in Stiles’ direction. 

“Only if there’s no sausage.” Stiles groaned, ready to start up their age old argument about how amazing sausage is on pizza, when Lydia smiled; this one more genuine than anything she’d thrown at Stiles all day. “Fine, only on half though.” 

It isn’t until later that night when the pizzas been devoured and Laura’s been tucked into bed, the dream catcher strung above her head, and Stiles and Lydia are sat on the couch, sipping at the wine Lydia had brought over, that it all begins to sink in. She’s really here. She’s really back in Beacon Hills with Laura on her hip. Back at the town she once called home, surrounded once again by her friends and family, by the familiar faces she grew up with. She can drive through all the streets the same as she did when she was a teenager. Granted, her jeep was long gone, replaced by a much safer and more gas efficient Toyota, but she still remembered all the streets and different back routes like the back of her hand. 

She was back in familiar territory. A town she used to fight tooth and nail to protect. 

She didn’t know what she expected to feel when she finally got here. Closure? A surprise sensation of peace? Anger? Maybe sadness? She felt nothing. She was numb, inside and out. That empty hollow ache still sitting uncomfortably in her chest. 

Lydia ran her fingers through Stiles’ hair, nails scratching along her scalp as they went. The redhead comforted her in the best way she knew how; by pointing out how bad Stiles’ split ends were getting. 

She had a full week of peace. A week of nothing but unpacking and play time with Laura, visits from Allison and her father, helping to remove boxes and occasionally move around furniture in Laura’s room when she wasn’t exactly sure if that was where she wanted her desk or her dresser. 

Stiles didn’t officially start work for another week, which meant this was all the time she had until she would have to start to bring Laura in to the local day care center. Which was a terrifying thought on its own. Laura was pretty good about not shifting out in public, she knew it was a big secret. It was only okay to wolf-out at home, and only if there were members of Uncle Scott’s or pop-pop around. But the thought of leaving Laura alone from ten in the morning until three in the afternoon Monday to Friday, Thursdays excluded, was scary. Even without all the claws and mini fangs involved. 

Her father had assured her over and over how that was just a parent thing and how Laura would be perfectly fine but Stiles was still flooded with nervous tension anytime she thought about it. She had spent so much time moving through the Berkley pack to her own, old, pack and Melissa and her father that it was terrifying to think of letting anyone else really watch her daughter for more than just two or three hours. A sixteen year old baby-sitter that was more interested in chewing gum and magazines than prying was one thing, a classroom with a teacher and a bunch of other little children was the complete opposite. 

Stiles clenched her fists before flexing out her fingers and breathing steadily through her nose. She knew this was necessary. She couldn’t sit at home with Laura until she would be old enough to take care of herself and just wait out the rest of the money in her savings account. No matter how attractive that offer seemed, she had to work. She needed to let Laura meet and interact with kids her own age. It was something they both just needed. No matter how much it scared Stiles. 

  


It was about one thirty on Monday when the knock came.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dun... dun... DUN.
> 
> The whole white noise thing with the baby monitor was something my sister actually came up with. So, thank you Audrey for that little gem.


	3. The big reveal. Ta-daa!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was about one thirty on Monday when the knock came.

Stiles was picking up left over toys in the living room when it happened. She sighed, dropping the mess of Barbies and rubber insects onto the couch before heading for the front door. She slid the metal chain from its lock before moving for the deadbolt, and eventually the door knob itself. 

Stiles had no idea who she expected to be on the other side of the door; the mailman, a UPS guy, Allison, maybe Scott with the mountain ash Deaton promised her! But it was definitely not him. 

“Oh shit!” Stiles exclaimed, by way of greeting, letting her arm drop from where it rested against the side of the door. 

Derek stared at her for a moment like she was the last person he expected when knocking on her front door. 

“Stiles.” He finally gritted out, face moving back into that familiar scowl Stiles had once thought was endearing. 

“Derek.” She responded in the same manner, frowning at him. A heavy silence settled in the doorway while Stiles strongly resisted the urge to crawl out of her skin. 

Despite the furrow in his brow Stiles could practically see the wheels turning in his head. She managed to keep her breathing steady but failed ultimately with the way her heart was suddenly in her stomach and its insistent pounding was practically deafening in her own ears. 

“What are you doing here?” Stiles slipped as much boredom into her voice as she could, feigning disinterest and leaning her shoulder on the wooden frame. 

Derek seemed to sober up, holding out the wooden box Stiles hadn’t even realized he’d been holding. She only stared at it before dragging her eyes back up to meet his, a single brow jumped up to signal her skepticism. Jesus, it almost hurt to see how much Laura really looked like him. 

“Deaton wanted me to bring this out to you.” If he knew anything he was doing a damn good job of hiding it. 

“Really?” Stiles chuckled, the sound almost hysterical even to her own ears. “Yeah, he fucking would…” The brunette rolled her eyes away from him, mumbling through the last few words. She was going to get him back. Oh, was she going to get Deaton back for this. 

When she finally managed to look back up to him Derek looked—confused? Suspicious? Something Stiles doesn’t have to think too hard about when she thinks about what he is. What he can hear. She knew he could hear her heart, the way it was thudding painfully in her chest and there was no question that he could probably hear Laura’s as well from upstairs. 

She forced a tight smile taking the box from his hand and basically hissed out her next words. “Thanks. Mountain ash, y’know, have to keep the big-bad’s out.” 

The scowl that had settled over his features doesn’t let up even as he steps into her house, looking about the foyer like she was hiding something big and bad behind the door. Granted she was, well not behind the door and probably not what he was thinking. 

“Oh, sure, just come on in.” Stiles grumbled, shutting the door and striding off towards the kitchen. 

The sight of him in her home sent her into full blown panic mode. She had to physically stop her hands from trembling as she set the box on the counter, flicked open the lock and peered down at the absolute astounding amount of ash Deaton provided her with. She was in the process of thinking about how she was almost positive this was way too much even for her project when she looked up to watch Derek step into the kitchen. A fresh wave of anxiety pulsed through her at the sight. 

He seemed to pick up on it judging by the way he made sure to keep his distance. Either that or he was just as freaked out about this as she was, which, hah, is highly laughable considering her current situation. She doesn’t think about it for too long, eyes ticking over to the clock on the far wall, praying that Laura would stay asleep for the last half hour of nap time. 

“I didn’t know you were coming back.” 

_Funny, I could say the same thing._ She shoved down her own sarcasm, opting for an answer more… civil. “Not a lot of people did. Tried to keep it quiet, really; in the family.” Okay, maybe not. 

Whatever bitter feelings or anger Derek felt he was masking so well that Stiles basically wanted to punch him in his stupid attractive face. 

“How long have you been here?” So they were going to keep up the small talk? Fine, she could do that. 

“A week, give or take. Tried to hold out till the last second.” She leaned back on the counter, arms crossed over her chest. Derek stared at her for another few seconds, before his eyes began to dart around the scene again. Stiles wondered if he was just cataloging the space or still trying to find the source of the second heart beat she knew he could hear. 

“The pack missed you, it’ll be good that you’re around again.” 

She wanted to ask if he was included in that statement, but smacked her teeth together when his attention seemed to flick over towards the stair case back in the foyer. 

Her chest swelled with panic as she heard Laura padding her way down the steps. No, no, no! She practically crumbled to pieces when she picked up the familiar tiny voice coming from down the hall. 

“Mommy?” 

Derek’s eyes immediately snapped back to Stiles, a hardness set in them now that hadn’t been there before. The look of bewilderment on his face though almost had Stiles stumbling as she ran past him and into the hall, effectively stopping Laura from getting into the kitchen. 

“Hey, honeybee, sleep well?” She knelt down, trying to block Derek’s view as well as Laura’s at this point. Laura yawned once and nodded, trying and failing to straighten out the mess of hair on her head. Stiles smiled, helping her out the best she could by running her fingers through the dark locks, and pushing them behind her ear. “Why don’t you go watch some TV and I’ll bring you some juice, okay?” 

Laura attempted to peer sleepily over her mother’s shoulder and into the kitchen, but gave up at the promise of juice. 

“Can I watch jack frost?” Of course, her latest movie obsession was good ol’ Rise of the Guardians. Stiles had no complaints though, no matter how many times Laura made her watch it. It was a damn fine piece of cinematic entertainment if she did say so. Stiles was a big fan of Russian Santa. 

“Of course.” Stiles ushered her off into the living room where Laura took her customary place, snuggled up tight in a mess of blankets, before returning to the kitchen where Derek was still standing looking pretty much the same as when Stiles had left. He didn’t look angry or worried just… okay, now that was honest surprise if she ever did see it on him. 

“You--.” 

“Yes.” Stiles doesn’t even let him finish, stepping over to the fridge to dig out the apple juice. She grabbed one of Laura’s plastic cups from the cabinet and began to pour the juice. Once she finished, she looked up, practically daring Derek to say something else about it. 

She still had no idea what he knew so she just expected the worst, like always; which was why she was so dumbfounded by his next question. 

“That is what you did at college?” It sounded accusatory. Like he was disappointed in her for running away and getting knocked up at Berkeley. Stiles could practically feel her jaw hitting the floor. 

“Excuse me?” Oh no, he couldn’t be angry with her if he thought she had done this after them. They hooked up once and he never called her for five fucking years. He wasn’t allowed to be angry. Who the hell did he think he was? 

He just kept staring at her expectantly, brows raised up like he was waiting for her to just give him some sort of explanation. God she just wanted to hit him over the head with one of the dining room chairs. 

By the time the thought had crossed her mind though Laura had stumbled into the kitchen, in search of the promised juice Stiles was now clutching viciously. 

Stiles moved quickly, snatching the girl up and turning her back so Derek couldn’t see her face. 

“Here ya go, baby-cakes.” She handed over the cup before gliding around Derek, keeping the two strategically out of each other’s line of sight, but seriously, fuck him for being so close to the door way. He was making this secrecy thing a lot harder than it needed to be. 

There was no way to hide the scent of wolf though. That much was obvious from the look he shot her. 

“What?” With Laura dropped safely back in the living room, Stiles felt comfortable in guarding the door way into the room herself now. 

“Nothing.” Derek shook his head, pointedly not looking past her. They stayed like that for a few minutes, avoiding each other’s gaze and each apparently seething in their own brands of anger. “She’s a were wolf.” The statement sounded more questionable than anything else he’d said. 

Stiles nodded, pursing her lips. “Yup. Her dad was one.” She waited until he was looking at her again before continuing. “He was a dick though. Not the greatest guy so he’s not exactly in the picture.” Again it was lost on her whether or not he actually understood, but it didn’t matter. Her heart was starting to hurt with how hard it was pounding against her ribs. 

She wanted this conversation to be over. 

“So, yeah, thanks for stopping by, tell Deaton thanks, but I’m a little busy right now.” On a good day she could never get Derek to budge even an inch, which was why she was surprised once again when he actually moved when she attempted to push him towards the door. “Hey, maybe we’ll see you at a pack meeting. Don’t count on it though! Bye Derek!” Anything he might have said or accused her of was cut off when she practically slammed the door in his face. 

She waited, hands braced on the door until she heard the disgustingly familiar sound of the camaro’s engine moving down the street. A heavy sigh of relief flooded out her lips as the sound grew fainter and fainter, soon enough only leaving her with the laughter of Jack Frost over the discovery of his own ice powers. 

Moving into the living room, Stiles practically threw herself onto the couch, stifling a groan. It took a few minutes, but as expected soon enough Laura was burrowing into her side, demanding hugs and cuddles as she tried to climb onto Stiles’ lap. Stiles held her close, pushing her nose into her daughter’s hair and breathing in the scent of strawberry shampoo. Immediately the panic that constricted her chest began to fade, her hammering heart steadying out as she just held her daughter. 

While all the circumstances leading up to this Stiles could have lived without, she would never regret keeping Laura, or having her for that matter. Eighteen is young for anyone to become a parent in her opinion, she now knows from experience just how difficult it all is. Juggling school and parenthood was a nightmare but she loved her daughter with every single fiber of her being. She would do anything for her, give her the world if she could. 

Nothing would ever change that.  


  


Of course though the peace couldn’t last and just three short days later Stiles was making her way down the cereal aisle of the grocery store, Laura safely in the seat by the handlebar, when she spotted them. 

Not just one, but both Hale siblings down at the other end arguing, it would seem, over a box of cheerios. Why did life hate her so much? Why? 

Laura continued to chatter on obliviously about something or other while Stiles’ heart practically leapt into her throat. She turned away and reached for whatever cereal Laura was trying to grab at. She scrunched her nose up as she read through the ingredients. Stiles loved herself a good bowl of sugary cereal, like any other twenty-three year old, but holy shit did they just throw handfuls of sugar into these things? 

“Are you sure about this, angel?” Stiles asked, chancing a glance down at the patient look Laura gave her. 

She nodded solemnly before reaching out again. “Yes, I’m sure.” Stiles grimaced before she let Laura take the box, the small girl hugging it close to her chest like some kind of precious item. A cereal like that was bound to keep her up all day. 

“Stiles.” 

Oh God, shoot her in the face now please. 

It took everything in her to hold back a shout as she turned to find Cora staring at her questionably. Derek was right behind her looking between Stiles and the back of Laura’s head like he still didn’t know what to make of them. An exaggerated frown stretched over his lips and his brows drawn tight. 

“Cora. Hi, hey, uh. How are you?” She tried a grin, moving away from the front of the cart trying to put herself between the Hales and Laura as best she could. 

Cora had that unimpressed look on, the one with a single cocked brow and pursed lips that she practically wore like a default. 

“Good. I heard you were back with--… _baggage_.” The way she said it didn’t sound threatening or condescending just bemused. It still sent a shiver up Stiles’ spine and had a new fit of annoyance lighting up inside her. Baggage? Really? 

Before Stiles could even try and respond Laura was wiggling about in the front of the cart, trying her hardest to turn around and face whoever was holding her mother’s attention. Stiles turned to watch her, stroking a hand down the side of her face when she finally managed to catch sight of the siblings across the aisle. 

Stiles knew that Laura was too young to recognize something like the features in Derek’s face from her own, but, well, Cora and Derek were two grown up were wolves. There was no hiding Laura from them at this point. 

The silence was tense and overbearing as the seconds seemed to drag on as they studied Laura and she studied them. 

“Are you Uncle Scott’s friends?” Laura asked eventually, shattering the tension. 

Cora nodded before taking a tentative step forward, she shot a look over to Stiles as she did. Stiles didn’t say anything, ticking her jaw and moving her eyes reflexively between the two. 

“Yeah--. Yeah, we’re part of Scott’s pack.” Cora stepped forward again, the mask of indifference cracking just around the edges at this point. 

“Really?” Laura stared up at Cora with big wide hazel eyes, practically vibrating in her seat with excitement; box of cereal now forgotten. Stiles reached over, plucking the box from the seat and dropping it into the cart, trying desperately to do anything other than stare at the scene in front of her. She rubbed at the back of her neck, almost praying for the floor to just swallow her whole. 

“Uncle Scott says I can play with you guys at the full moon this month!” With the mention of the lunar cycle, Stiles was quick to check up and down the aisle. It was the middle of the day on a Thursday, of course there would be no one else here. Allison had offered to come around with them on her lunch break but stupid Stiles had turned it down telling Allison to spend her lunch hour doing something actually enjoyable. 

Why hadn’t she just accepted? 

“Really? That’ll be… fun.” Cora’s lips twitched up at the corners as she spoke. Derek had yet to say a thing; when Stiles flicked her gaze up to him she could see the mixed shock and horror practically jumping off his features. “I’m Cora. This is my brother, Derek. What’s your name?” 

_Oh fuck, no._

“Laura!” Stiles didn’t need to look at the siblings to know what kind of a reaction that had gotten. Laura’s wide grin was faltering at this point and Stiles’ hands had started to shake. It was time to get out of here. Now. 

“This has been fun. I’m sure you’ll see them on the full moon, sweetie. Say goodbye to Cora and Derek.” She gripped the handle on the cart so tightly the skin that stretched across her knuckles began to turn white. 

“Bye, Cora! Bye, Der’k!” Laura called cheerfully as Stiles pushed the cart away. 

“Stiles.” They had gotten all of four steps away when Derek called out to her. She hesitated, resisting the urge to fidget and squirm as she turned her head. Something unreadable in his expression made that urge grow stronger and stronger. Her gaze then darting over to where Cora was still staring at the spot Laura had been. By the time her eyes dragged back to Derek he was looking at Laura from where she was peering around at him. 

Stiles didn’t wait for whatever he was going to say, turning back around and moving quickly out of the aisle. She grabbed Laura out of the cart then, balancing her on her hip before snatching up her bag, abandoning their cart and leaving the store all together. She would return later to pick up everything they needed. Alone. She just needed to get the hell away from this store before anybody else found them.  


  


“Wait you ran into them?” Allison questioned down the line, the sound of her typing ultimately halting with the words. Technically Allison wasn’t on lunch break anymore, but considering who she worked for it didn’t matter. The sheriff wouldn’t mind if Allison took a personal call for the sake of Stiles’ sanity. 

“Yes! And they saw her and fuck, Allison!” Stiles paced about the kitchen trying to keep her tone as low as she could. Laura was still sleeping but she didn’t want to risk anything. 

“Jesus.” Allison whistled low. “What did they say?” 

“Nothing? I mean, I think they were in shock?” She fumbled about with the dishes in the sink, trying to give her hands something to do other than fidget at her sides. 

“Makes sense. Honestly Stiles, Laura is practically a mini Derek, they’d have to be idiots to not notice.” The typing picked back up again. “The Hales are a lot of things but idiots? Not so much these days.” Stiles scoffed, turning around to lean back on the counter. 

“These days? Good, ‘cause I can remember a good handful of times they were straight up stupid in the past.” 

Allison chuckled. “You’d be surprised how much they’ve matured.” The sarcasm that laced her tone had Stiles huffing out a laugh. 

“Well I’m taking care of the mountain ash tonight so hopefully I won’t have a couple of were wolves climbing in through my windows.” 

“Didn’t that happen like once?” 

“It leaves an impression!” 

It was Allison’s turn to scoff. “Either way, the full moons coming up. Scott won’t shut up about finally getting to run with his God Daughter. You can’t back out of this one.” 

Stiles groaned loudly, rubbing a hand through her hair. “Yeah. I’m aware.” 

How could she be so stupid as to forget the full moon? A new sense of dread and terror filled her, rotting her insides the longer she thought about it. At least now they knew. Somewhat. At least now she could avoid that encounter when she had to drop Laura off at the Hale house. 

The full moon was next Friday. A week away. 8 days to be precise. 

She had 8 days to think of what the hell she was going to say when faced with the entire assault of the rest of the pack. Why did she ever think coming back here would be easy? Answer; she didn’t. She knew it was going to suck and it was going to hurt but she did it anyway and now she was hating herself for it. 

Of course the tension only seemed to sky rocket when on Saturday who would show up at her doorstep other than Cora Goddamn Hale? 

Stiles struggled for words at first, opening and closing her mouth like a fish while Cora continued to just stand there; stock still in such a way that had Stiles even more on edge. 

“Fuck, Cora, listen—“ 

“You named her Laura.” The words came out forced as Cora stared daggers into the welcome mat. 

“What?” 

“You named her after Laura?” She looked up, the daggers were gone and had left pain in their wake as her gaze honed in on Stiles. “Why?” 

For four years Stiles asked herself that very same question. She could have named her after her own mother, Claudia. She could have named her after Leia the most badass woman in science fiction history! She could have called her Frank for Christ’s sake! Why the hell had she chosen to name her after Laura? After the sister she never knew of the guy she slept with once? 

“I. I don’t know.” The answer was the truth but she couldn’t stop herself from tripping over the words. Cora made a move, like she was debating on whether it was a good idea to just run back to her car. 

“Can I--. Can I see her? Again?” Her eyes darted around the porch and door way, barely ever reaching Stiles’ face. “Please?” 

Stiles nodded soundlessly, scared at the fact that she could feel the familiar sting of tears clouding her sight. “Yeah.” She moved from the door way, closing it behind Cora before leading her into the dining room where Laura sat quietly coloring in one of her animal cartoon books. A few others were splayed out in front of her along with a mess of colored pencils and crayons, it looked like an arts and crafts warzone. 

“Hey, honeybee, you remember Cora?” Stiles kneeled down beside her daughter, placing a hand on her shoulder. 

Laura looked up from the picture of puppies she was currently coloring in hues of blues and pinks and turned up to Cora from where she continued to lurk in the threshold. “Hi Cora!” She smiled, all teeth, at the other were wolf. Cora didn’t say anything, apparently in the same over whelmed state as Stiles by everything. 

“Is it okay if Cora colors with you for a bit?” Stiles spoke up, swallowing around the lump in her throat as she rubbed a hand over one of Laura’s skinny arms. Laura made a thoughtful noise before nodding. 

“Yeah, but you got’a be careful of the yellow ones cause they break lots.” She returned to her own picture as Stiles moved to motion Cora forward. 

She moved slowly like she still wanted to just book it out of the house at any moment. Stiles wouldn’t blame her if she did. Eventually she sat down beside Laura though, staring at the toddler quietly before a grin slowly broke out over her features and a huff of laughter came from her lips. She looked between Stiles and Laura for a moment, tears springing to her eyes as well. 

Suddenly the guilt crashed on Stiles in one big heavy wave, nearly yanking all the air straight from her lungs. Derek and Cora… They were all each other had anymore. Aside from Peter but, well, let’s face it Peter’s a bit of a jackass and even then it’s only the three of them. Laura was Cora’s niece. She was Derek’s daughter. She was another piece to add to what little family they actually had left. How could she be so selfish as to withhold that from them? She was angry that Derek never tried to contact her, boo-fucking-hoo, but she had kept one of the only family members he and Cora had left a secret from them for five years. 

On top of it all she knew she probably would have done it for forever if she could have gotten away with is. What kind of a monster was she? 

Stiles leaned over pressing a kiss to Laura’s temple before standing up, she clenched her hands wanting to just reach out and touch Cora in some way to say something she couldn’t vocalize right now. She had been spending too much time with too many were wolves. 

In the end she just walked away heading back into the kitchen to finish preparing lunch. 

Cora stayed for a few hours and Stiles tried her best to let them have their space. It wasn’t that hard when every time she so much as looked at the pair the enormous weight of what she had done came crashing down on her again and again. Laura had at some point dragged Cora from the dining room into the living room for a riveting game of tea time. 

Stiles was positive she had never seen Cora crack anything more than a smirk in their entire time of knowing each other, yet here she was in her living room smiling brightly while holding onto a plastic cookie while Laura told her everything that went into keeping her tea set in perfect condition. Stiles didn’t even know she was capable of using those muscles. It was… well, if she were to be honest it was like a punch to the face. Cora looked happy and it hurt so much to know she kept that away from her. 

Little Cora Hale who deserved all the happiness in the world. Just like her brother. 

Around dinner time Cora said she had to leave again. She said goodbye to Laura, hesitantly accepting the customary goodbye hug before she followed Stiles to the door. 

“She really likes you. Laura doesn’t let just anybody in on her secret tea parties.” Stiles grinned with a quick wink at the other before pulling the door open. 

Cora hesitated again, staring openly for the first time at Stiles’ face; the intensity of the look was enough to have Stiles fidgeting again. Her fingers numbly pulling at the hem of her t-shirt. 

“Thank you.” 

Stiles was taken aback by the sudden gratitude. She paused for a brief moment before shaking her head. No, no. Stiles was the last person Cora should ever thank. 

“Cora, you shouldn’t be thanking me. I kept her from you--. I—“ 

“Stiles, shut up. You. I don’t know what the hell happened but just, thank you.” Stiles still wasn’t entirely sure on what exactly she was being thanked for, but then again she also wasn’t one to really fight with Cora. Not after last time. 

“Do you think I could--.” The were stopped herself, almost arguing with herself again on if it was a good idea to speak. 

“Come back tomorrow?” Stiles chanced at, watching the way Cora’s features twitched before smoothing out again. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. I’m sure Laura would love that.” Cora smiled again, as if Stiles had just presented her the entire world on a platter. 

They exchanged quick good byes and what times would be good for tomorrow before Stiles found herself alone in the kitchen again. She let out a groan basically slamming her head on the counter. She was a fucking idiot. 

“Are you okay, mommy?” Peeking open one eye Stiles could see Laura staring up at her with wide eyes and a furrow in her brow. Stiles nodded reaching down to ruffle Laura’s hair. 

“I’m fine, Laura. Can you set the table for me?” 

“Okay.” The toddler moved back into the dining area, beginning to set up the plates and silverware Stiles had already pulled from the cabinets. Stiles quietly sent a thank you to the universe over how Laura hadn’t learned how to listen for lies yet. She was getting there though, it wouldn’t be long now before she would start calling Stiles out on her bullshit. Especially with the way Scott apparently loved being Mr. Were Wolf Teacher and constantly looked for way to turn everything into a lesson. 

Stiles watched as Laura moved about the two chairs they used, wondering how it would feel to have a third occupied, even a fourth, on a regular basis. She still believed Laura didn’t need anything more than what she had to have a loving family, but that didn’t stop her from wondering at this point just how much bigger and better that family would be if she had just let go.  


  


Cora came over the next day, alone just as Stiles had expected. They both sat down to watch the Little Mermaid with Laura squished between them as she absolutely reveled in being caught up in a cuddle sandwich. It wasn’t long until she was practically draped over the two of them. Her legs splayed out over Cora’s and her head resting on Stiles’ thighs. It was kind of adorable. 

Okay a lot adorable. 

It was during lunch, while Laura was too preoccupied with focusing on just how much peanut butter she could balance on a carrot stick to be paying attention to any grown up conversation that Cora actually brought up the big tension that still hung between them. 

“I told Derek he should have come with me today.” 

Stiles fumbled with her fork, nearly dropping it to the floor. “Really?” There was still that pit of dread in her stomach whenever the thought of Derek crossed her mind, but now it seemed to just get bigger and bigger each day he never came by. “What happened?” 

Cora stared at her for a long moment, chewing at her own carrot stick carefully. “He was convinced you’d throw him out on his a--… you wouldn’t let him in.” Nice save. 

Stiles snorted, sipping at her water and buying time. “I wouldn’t, just for the record.” The look she received then was unbelievable. “What? I mean it. Things are just…” She paused, glancing over to Laura who was now munching happily on her sandwich. “Complicated.” 

“You’re telling me? When I told him I came by yesterday he almost had an aneurysm.” 

Stiles wasn’t supposed to laugh at that. But she did anyway, chuckling quietly. Cora didn’t look mad just reluctant. Like she couldn’t believe this was actually happening. 

“Well I don’t think we’ll exactly be able to avoid anything on Friday.” 

“You two have spent five years avoiding this. Aren’t you tired of it, yet?” Cora had only been in the know for three days and she sounded just as exasperated as Stiles felt. 

Cora and Stiles had never been close. They had barely even been friends but for some reason Stiles felt a sort of closeness to her in this moment. Maybe it was because of the little girl that sat just on the other side of the table, or maybe it was the open expression Cora was fixing her with. 

“God, yes.” It took a lot but finally Stiles just let out a breath. Admitting just how tired of the secrecy she really was. For five years she had hung onto her anger and her hurt, and in just three days that had all seemed to crumble away leaving the overwhelming burden of guilt to slowly crush her harder than everything else. 

Cora looked… satisfied then. Stiles turned away, wiping at a smudge of jelly on Laura’s cheek. 

Another hour was spent like that. The tension slowly leaking from Cora and Stiles while they both chased Laura around the yard. She shrieked with laughter anytime one of them scooped her up in their game of tag. The yard was a decent size, not exactly optimal for normal were wolf speed, but for the speed of a four year old one? It was perfect. 

Stiles had to take a moment and laugh at how much like a big puppy Cora really was. She would crouch down and chase after Laura or even Stiles, growling playfully whenever she managed to grab at one of them. And Laura just loved it. She would smile and yell, taking off to the other end of the yard whenever one of the older women came too close to touching her. 

She was a little rougher with Stiles, at one point even tackling her to the ground and sitting back on her haunches before smiling again. “You got slow, Stilinski. Would have thought you’d be a bit more on the up with a kid running around.” It was all in good fun, for the most part. But that didn’t stop Stiles from jumping at Cora whenever she got the chance. She had a reputation as the not-so-fragile human to keep. 

“No! Mommy!” Laura yelled through her laughter as she ran up Stiles’ pant leg, circling around to climb onto her back as Cora rounded the large tree on the other end of the yard. Stiles took off in the other direction while Laura giggled and hung onto her like her little life depended on it. 

Cora came up behind them, plucking Laura off Stiles’ shoulders with ease and tossing her up in the air before catching her again. Laura shrieked again, giggling while Cora tickled at her tummy. 

Scott was like a brother to Stiles, Allison and Lydia her sisters, seeing them with Laura and playing around with her always had Stiles breathing with something close to relief. It made her heart swell to see the easy smiles on everyone’s face. But it was almost nothing compared to seeing Laura actually with her family. Family didn’t mean blood, but there was something about seeing Laura being swept up in Cora’s arms that was like a punch to the gut. It was different in a way. 

And then all at once everything changed. Cora looked up towards the house, eyes narrowing while Laura tried to squirrel her way back down onto the grass. 

“Cora?” Stiles held her breath, moving to stand beside the other woman. 

“Derek’s here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I love cliff-hangers?  
> I like the idea of tough as nails Cora becoming just this giant puppy full of emotion when presented with something like this. It just feels right for some reason. I hope I'm not alone in this.
> 
> I am aware that at this point Laura seems to be the perfect little four year old but don't you worry. She gets her tantrums and fits as well, just you wait.


	4. There's a time and a place.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Cora?” Stiles held her breath, moving to stand beside the other woman.
> 
> “Derek’s here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't put a chapter up yesterday. it was a bit of a weird day. This one's a bit shorter than the last two but it's all I got for you guys right now!  
> Anyway, here's chapter four!

Stiles could swear up and down her heart actually stopped at that moment. Her throat tightened and she couldn’t find anything to say or do other than breathe, unsteady and low. Once again she hadn’t expected enough. She had thought she would have at least until Friday to face Derek again but now he was here. Probably at her front door. On Sunday. Five days too early for her end-all-be-all plan. 

She jumped; trying to pull away from whatever had grabbed onto her bicep. 

Cora was in front of her then, squeezing her arm gently. 

“I’ll keep Laura out here.” She wasn’t smiling anymore, the heavy frown set back into her features as her brown gaze searched Stiles’ face. 

Stiles nodded, running a hand through her hair before crossing the yard and heading back up through the back door. She hesitated in the kitchen, hands trembling once again as she tried to force her feet to move from where they were glued down to the tile. 

How the hell had her life come to this? How did she go from a care-free sixteen year old cast-out to a twenty-three year old mother who spent her youth fighting the supernatural with a pack of were wolves? She had blood on her hands and conscious, a questionable past that included breaking several laws while trying desperately to save a town she thought she hated so damn much. She had a daughter now. She had a beautiful baby girl that she raised on her own. 

It felt like everything that ever happened in her life head been leading up to this moment. The moment of truth. A conversation that could essentially make or break her family. A family of two that she never intended to have but now never wanted to let go. 

Another squeal of laughter came pouring in through the open window. 

Right. 

She was doing this for Laura. No matter what hurt, guilt, anger, or anything filled in the cracks of Stiles’ being Laura deserved the best. She deserved the chance to have something real. That’s why she really came back to Beacon Hills. To have her family, hers and Laura’s close by. So Laura could grow up knowing more than just her mother’s love. She wanted to give Laura everything under the sun. And that included the chance at having her father in her life. 

Stiles pulled in a long breath before crossing the house to the front door in swift fast movements, not giving her body the chance to stop or slow down again. She reached out, yanking open the front door. She griped the doorknob hard enough to hurt, as she stared at Derek. He looked just as surprised as she felt that she even opened the door. 

Honestly, she was more surprised she’d made it to the door before dropping dead of a heart attack. 

“Derek.” Stiles greeted managing to keep her voice from wavering. She released her vice grip on the door before stepping aside. “Uhm, hi. Come in.” At this point he looked more uncomfortable than anything. 

“Or—or don’t. Uh, I mean, Laura’s in the backyard if you’d rather we go back… there?” She wasn’t stupid despite what recent events might say. They needed to talk. Now that he knew there was so much they needed to just sit down and discuss but judging by the look on his face and the twist in her gut she wasn’t sure they were exactly ready to talk. 

Derek was shaking his head though, apparently he’d rather they just get this over with. Fair enough. 

“No, it’s fine.” He stepped through the door way into the foyer looking smaller than the last time. Shame washed through her veins, filling her system and holding tight to her throat. 

She led him back towards the dining room, motioning for him to sit before she hurried off to shut the window in the kitchen. Rushing into the living room Stiles dug around in one of the drawers and returned to the dining room, holding tight to the baby monitor before flicking it on and placing it on the armoire. 

Turning around she balked at the confused twitch in his eye brows form where Derek sat at the table. She knew the white-noise was grating to anyone’s ears, were wolves especially. 

“Her ears.” She began, sitting tensely across from him. “Her hearing isn’t developed enough to hear past the noise yet. Kind’a like an on the go sound proofing. Really comes in handy with a four year old. You know at this age all they do is parrot what they hear? You try explaining that to your elderly neighbor when your kid shouts about ‘piece of shit no good downgraded imports’! Not the greatest thing in the world. Trust me, it’s not fun.” Oh Jesus Christ she was rambling. Why was she rambling? 

Stiles snapped her mouth shut with a click, fingers pulling at the frayed hole in the knee of her jeans. Derek only continued to stare at her, looking like he had no idea what to make of any of this. She didn’t blame him; again. 

“She’s yours. Just wanted to—maybe, clear that up.” Oh, if looks could kill Stiles would burst into flames right then and there. She winced, blinking a few times before moving to stand. “Do you want coffee? I could put some on if--” 

“Stiles.” Derek leaned forward in his chair, fingers interlacing as he leaned his elbows on the table. She sat back, watching him cautiously as his face twitched, moving through expressions of confusion and anger simultaneously. “Who else knew?” Out of all the millions of questions and things he could have asked, that was it? That was the first thing he chose to go with? Stiles gaped at him, jaw slack for a moment before she rushed to compose herself. 

“Uh— Scott. Scott, Allison, and Lydia.” She scratched subconsciously at the back of her neck. “My dad, obviously. Melissa and Deaton to.” Considering what a small group they all actually were it only sank in then that really more than half of their entire circle knew about Laura. The only ones in the dark were Derek, Cora, Jackson, Isaac, and Peter. 

Derek didn’t look mad which forced some of the tension to leak from Stiles’ shoulders. 

“You never thought maybe telling me about this was a good idea?” And just like that it was all back. Her jaw opened and shut a few times as the anger boiled in her. Stiles flailed her arms out in his general direction, eyes practically bulging from her face. 

“Are you serious!?” He glared right back at her, holding her stare as she tried to fathom through all the coiled up rage in her body. “I tried, Derek! I called you right after I found out but you never fucking answered. All I kept getting was that stupid voice telling me how your voicemail was full. I called and you never called back.” Oh no, he wasn’t going to blame this on her. He was just as at fault as she was. He was the one that ran away. 

“Really, Stiles? Because I don’t remember once getting a call from you for the past four years.” 

He was so full of crap she just wanted to flush him down the toilet. 

“I called you all through my pregnancy. Nine months of hell I had to endure while going to school miles away from anybody I knew. What did I ever get in return? Nothing!” She stood up suddenly, the chair falling back onto the hard wood with a loud clack. 

“I came back here and I know for a fact Scott told you about that.” Derek stood up as well, mirroring her tense posture. 

“You ran away. You knocked me up and ran away into the sunset, Derek. I was pissed, so sue me!” All the guilt and sadness that had pinned her down for the past few days instantly vanished. “You never once called, texted, e-mailed! In five years you never said anything to me. Don’t pin all of this shit on me. You weren’t the one that had to raise a kid all alone!” She had Scott and the others sure, but they weren’t there 24/7. They weren’t there for the sleepless nights and endless dirty diapers. They weren’t there through the potty training and the weeks Stiles spent scrambling to write her thesis while making sure to keep her baby from waking the entire block. 

For just one moment she could swear there was a flash of compunction in his eyes but it was gone almost as quickly as it came. 

“I ran away? What about you? Isn’t that what you did when you never came back?” 

“That’s not the point, Derek. You left without leaving anything. We didn’t know where you went! You can’t just do that when you do things you regret! You can’t pack up your goddamn life and run away for months without a word.” 

When Derek opened his mouth for a retort Stiles shut him down. 

“No! You don’t get to say anything.” She waved a hand out in front of her. “You don’t get to say anything until you tell me why you left in the first place.” A pause. “I’ll answer anything you ask if you just tell me that.” 

It was like all the air had been forcibly sucked right out of the room only to be replaced by a heavy sense of oppression that had Stiles forcibly keeping herself from collapsing. 

This was really it. They were actually going to talk about what happened that night. 

Stiles remembered it well, of course she did. For a whole year beforehand she had thought she felt something close to love for Derek and that night she actually thought he returned the sentiment. How could she ever forget something like that? Even through the initial pain and anger after his disappearance act and everything that came afterwards that night stuck like a brand on her memory. 

They had survived a territory war! They had kept the Hale land from falling into the hands of another pack and they all came out of it on the other side! Stiles was a little banged up, sure. Her right cheek was cut and she was sure she’d had a bruised rib or two but it was nothing when she was running on the high she always felt after cheating death like that. And Derek, fucking _Derek_ had saved her from the worst of it. He saved her from getting a set of claws through her stomach and he was clinging to her like she’d shatter into a million pieces if he let go. He held onto her like he was the only thing that could keep her together. 

What was she supposed to make of something like that? Of him pulling her away from the clutches of death and then just hours later kissing her so hard she was sure her lips would be bruised for days. Soon enough the kissing had turned to touching which turned to clothes being strewn about with a few soft caresses here and there, calloused palms running over expanses of pale skin and hungry lips chasing after anything they could find. 

It wasn’t like how it was in all those crappy movies, there was no dramatic declaration of love before or after. It was rough and dirty and everything that came from years of apparent pent up tension but somehow it all felt just right. Every time their lips collided and each time Stiles moved her hips in time with his had sent shockwaves of pleasure through her entire system that resonated in her on more than just a basic physical level. And for one small moment she had been stupid enough to think everything was finally going right. She was so sure the universe had finally looked down at her and said ‘you know what you’ve done enough; here’s something special.’ 

But she was wrong. Of course she was wrong. She was always wrong. 

The next morning she didn’t wake up draped over him or wrapped up in his arms, she woke up cold and alone in bed with nothing more than a few new bruises and an ache in her chest that would refuse to leave her for the next five years. 

The next day he was gone. No note, no message. Nothing more than an empty house and a few clothes forgotten in his drawers. No matter how hard Stiles had tried to forget it all she remembered how she cried for hours to Lydia that night. She was so confused and hurt and nothing helped to ease the pain that vibrated through her body. For the next five years she would live questioning why he had even saved her if he really hated her that much. If he hated her enough to leave everything behind because of what he’d done. She’d ask herself day in and day out if he regretted it. If she regretted it. 

Every damn time she looked down at Laura was like a wound re-opening. Over and over and over again. No mother should feel that way when looking at their child. Laura was the love of her life, her baby girl, her little honeybee. She was everything to Stiles and it hurt so damn much to look at her and see Derek in her every single day. 

It wasn’t fair that he had gotten to carry on with his life while her entire world just stopped. It wasn’t fair that she had to raise their child on her own. 

And no matter how fucking much she wanted to blame him for it, blame him for everything, she just couldn’t. This was all her fault. Everything. At any point in the past four years she could have slammed on his door and pushed Laura into his hands. She could have shoved him away that night. There was so much she could have done to prevent all the pain in her life but she’d never been brave enough to do it. She’d always been selfish and allowed her own anger to drive her to the point of madness. 

It felt like all of her sanity was slowly slipping away as the minutes dragged on that he didn’t answer. All she wanted to know was why. Why he did it, why he left, why he just wouldn’t answer his goddamn phone. She wanted to know all of it so badly. Her hands began to twitch and shake the longer the silence stretched on. 

Until finally, he cracked. 

Derek’s shoulders slumped, his gaze dropping away from hers. It was like all the fight just flew right out of him. 

“I wasn’t thinking. I--. Jesus, Stiles I didn’t think this was going to happen.” There was so much she could say to that. So many things she could accuse him of and yell at him for but she held it all inside, bringing her arms up to cross over her chest like a bind. “I didn’t---- _don’t_ have the best record when it comes to relationships.” 

Stiles knew that. She knew that all too well after his last girlfriend tried to basically kill them all. 

Derek’s whole face seemed to contort painfully like he was physically struggling to get the next words out. “I was scared.” He drew his eyes up, meeting hers again. “After Kate, Jennifer… Paige, I didn’t want you to--.” He cut off, suddenly struggling with his words all over again. 

“Didn’t _what_? Didn’t want me to turn out to be some kind of killer? Or more blood on your hands? You knew me, Derek.” He did. He knew her back then. He knew just about every little thing about her. Everything from what song her mother used to sing her to sleep right up to her favorite color and everything in between. But he knew nothing about what she had become. “I thought I knew you.” 

“Well maybe you didn’t.” There was no force behind the words, no edge or anger and suddenly Stiles had the urge to just run over and pull him in her arms. 

“I guess not.” She clenched her hands, setting her chair back up and falling into it with a heavy sigh. Stiles rested her head in her palms resisting the strong urge to just yank at her mess of hair. It wasn’t the answer she expected, it was one that left open so many other questions that she wanted to just throw at him but dammit all if she wasn’t just exhausted. The stress of the last week catching up to her in a single crash. 

By the time she brought her head back up Derek was still staring at her looking as if he still had something to say but just couldn’t voice it. She would let him off the hook, for now at least. This wasn’t over. 

“So? I’m assuming you’ve got questions of your own.” Stiles gestured to his abandoned chair before leaning back in her own. Reluctantly he sat back down across from her the tension never quite leaving his body. 

“Why _Laura_?” He asked after a few moments. 

“I don’t know.” Her brows pulled in, lips pulling into a taught line. “It just felt right.” Maybe the guilt had been there all along. Maybe even from day one she’d felt horrible about keeping Laura a secret. Maybe she gave her that name hoping the burden would lessen a little. 

Derek seemed to accept the answer, nodding his head once like he knew that was all he was going to get. 

“How did you get her to control her shifts?” 

A snort escaped Stiles as she tapped her fingers rhythmically against her knee. “Other than how awesome of a teacher I am?” She smirked down at her nails before continuing. “There was a pack. In Berkeley. They kind of adopted us in after they found out about Laura. They helped me on full moons for the past couple of months.” Laura missed the Berkley pack already, asking Stiles if they could send them a postcard with updates. It was understandable, even if they weren’t official pack they were still the closest thing Laura really ever knew. 

“You’re part of their pack then?” Looking up, Stiles caught the brief flash of blue in his eyes. 

“No. I mean, their alpha helped me out a lot when Laura was growing up but I told her we weren’t looking for a pack then. Besides, with Scott around I think they got the message pretty clear.” With that Derek seemed to relax a bit, at least enough that he stopped sitting so stock still. 

When he said nothing, the silence between them dragging on again, Stiles spoke up. Finally asking the question that had been itching under her skin since the supermarket run-in. 

“Would you--.” She stopped for a second, gathering up her thoughts again, fingers gripping tightly to each other form where she had clasped her hands in her lap. “Do you want to be a part of her life? It doesn’t matter if you want to be her father or just a friend I just-. I think it’d be good for her to at least know you.” It was just as much a surprise to her as to him when she found herself telling the complete truth. It didn’t matter what Stiles felt towards him. Laura deserved the chance to at least know the other part of the equation that made her up. “If she’s going to be running with you guys on the full moon I’d at least like her to know everyone outside of full moons as well.” She deserved that much at least. 

It felt like pulling teeth but eventually Derek just nodded, still looking shocked like he had forgotten everything else that had them sitting at this table. 

Stiles stood up then, flicking off the baby monitor and walking towards the door. Immediately the sound of Laura’s yelling and laughter filled the space again. She pulled the door open, looking out in time to see Laura practically tackle Cora, Cora of course not being in any real danger still fell comically to the ground with a loud _‘oof’_. Stiles turned back around to see Derek still staring at her with wide eyes. She only smiled, almost sadly, nodding towards the backyard before stepping down the two concrete steps the led out onto the grass. 

Waiting until Derek joined her side Stiles allowed herself a moment to just reflect on how much everything had changed in the two weeks they had been here. Aside from a new home it probably didn’t seem like much had changed at all to Laura, but Stiles’ entire world shifted and spun at a different angle. The thought made her nauseous. 

Cora was staring up at them now, her face a careful mask. 

“Laura! Can you come here for a second?” 

The toddler looked up, smiling brightly at her mother before climbing down off of Cora’s back and running over to them. God, her dress was a mess. It was going to take days to get all the grass stains out. Stiles knelt down, using the hem of her flannel to wipe away the dirt that had brushed over Laura’s nose. Laura made a face, crinkling her nose and furrowing her little brows before smiling seriously and nodding at Stiles like she approved of the action. 

“You remember Derek, right?” He hadn’t specified what sort of roll he wanted to play in her life so Stiles went with the safe route. If he wanted it any different he could correct her. 

Laura’s hazel gaze moved between Derek and Stiles for a moment before she nodded. 

“He’s Cora’s big brother. You and her talk ‘bout him a lot.” Even from across the yard Stiles could hear Cora snort. 

“That’s right.” She ignored the prickling burn rising on her cheeks and neck. They did not. “He stopped by to say hi, can you say hi to him, baby?” Laura pursed her lips in a very Stiles like fashion before nodding and stepping up to Derek and holding her hand out like Deaton had taught her to. 

“Hello, Der’k.” Yeah, they were going to have to work on her pronunciation. That is, if she would even be using his name; apparently that was up in the air judging by the still lingering hints of surprise in Derek’s expression. Laura smiled though, that beautiful blinding smile that always melted Stiles’ heart. 

Derek was kneeling down beside Stiles now, taking Laura’s tiny hand in one of his own larger ones and letting her shake it about before she was satisfied. 

“Hello, Laura.” The small smile that was present on his face was practically a punch to Stiles’ gut. It didn’t matter whatever negative energy she was still clinging onto after their conversation, seeing him and Laura together pulled the air right from her lungs. She hadn’t even realized how much she longed for him to be in Laura’s life until now. Until she actually could see it with her own eyes. The dull pain in her chest still sat heavy but it was knocked around for a moment. A looseness reset in her shoulders she didn’t even know had been gone in the first place. 

“You got the same eyes as me!” Laura suddenly shouted, nearly knocking Stiles right to the ground. Well Laura was a smart kid. Stiles was just pleased that that was the end of her revelation. 

Derek nodded, looking like he had no idea what to say to that. 

“Uhm, L-Laura, you know Derek’s like you, right?” Stiles stammered out, seriously wanting to just run into the backdoor head first. Laura nodded before her smile faltered. “Why don’t you take him over to Cora and show him what you guys were playing?” 

Laura spent a good few seconds contemplating this before nodding. “Okay! C’mon, Derk’.” She grabbed his hand before leading him back towards where Cora was waiting, arms folded over her chest and a smirk on her lips. 

Derek threw back an uneasy look to Stiles who only smirked and waved her hands like she couldn’t do anything about what he was about to get dragged into. Which wasn’t true necessarily, but no way was she going to stop this from happening. 

She waited until Laura finished explaining the very complex rules of tag before heading back inside. It took everything inside her not to just collapse in a heap on the floor when she reopened the kitchen window in time to spot Laura throw herself onto Derek’s leg, avoiding Cora’s tickling fingers. The twisting and churning in her gut hit an all-time high, having her basically dry-heave into the sink. 

A sudden tear slipped down her cheek, making her jerk back away from the window and stumble back into the wall. Stiles wiped her fingers under her eyes, halting anymore threatening ones in their tracks. She shook out her arms and neck and started to move about the kitchen, occupying herself with starting up dinner. 

Stiles hummed the familiar tune of _Baa Baa Black Sheep_ to herself, ignoring the lingering sting of tears in her eyes and the tremors in her legs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, Derek's a bit of a dick in this chapter. Sorry, kind of.  
> But there's the back story of their unsuccessful, or successful depending on how you look at it, hook-up.
> 
> I love hearing from you guys and seeing your opinions on what is going on with all of this so please feel free to keep commenting and telling me! I love seeing what you guys have to say.


	5. Mr. Harold Birdmen Stilinski!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am super sorry this one took so long to get out, y'all! I just started a new job and I've been working literally day and night. It's a little hard to write anything when all your schedule can afford is sleep, work, maybe eat.  
> Anyway, this ones a little slow going but I figured it would be better than nothing. So, hope you like it, and I'll try to keep the updates consistent again!

“You know I love you but making me come all the way here for this is just—“ 

Stiles ran over, practically flinging herself at Lydia, waving her hands in front of her and making a face that read perfectly of the absolute desperation she felt. Lydia only rolled her eyes, dropping the new bottle of red wine onto the counter. At this rate there was going to be more wine than food in the house. 

“So, how long have they been at it?” The red head stepped through the kitchen carefully, bracing her hands on the edge of the sink to peer out the window. 

Stiles shrugged up a shoulder before returning to the oven and peeking in at the casserole. “About an hour? Everything’s almost done though, so I figured I’d have to call everyone in soon.” If she tried really hard she didn’t even have to think about who ‘ _everyone_ ’ consisted of. 

Suddenly Lydia was standing behind her, hands planted firmly on her hips as she stared in dismay at the absolute mess Stiles had made. 

“Jesus, Stiles, how much food did you make?” 

“Enough!” She replied defensively. Stiles was a nervous cooker, Lydia knew this. 

“Enough for who? The navy seals?” Stiles fixed her with a flat stare. Again Lydia only rolled her eyes, this time the movement moving her body as well. “I’m not taking home left overs.” With that she turned back around and moved towards the cabinet full of glasses and cups. She totally was. There was enough chicken casserole and rolls and vegetables to feed the entire town. Stiles would be damned if Lydia didn’t bring at least half of it home. 

Or maybe she could push it onto Cora. Maybe Derek. As a show of good faith. Maybe. 

In the next few seconds the kitchen was a flurry of activity as Laura ran in through the back door, a sour look on her face. Cora and Derek were quick to follow, both looking equal amounts worse for wear. 

“Mommy!” Laura bellowed, running over to Stiles and burying her little face in her kneecaps. Seeing as how she didn’t even acknowledge her favorite aunt it must have been bad. Stiles looked up, shooting a careful glare towards the Hale’s before kneeling down and wrapping her arms around her daughter. She had left them alone for an hour, what the hell did they do? 

“What’s wrong, baby girl?” She rubbed a hand down Laura’s back before the little girl eventually pulled back enough to stare up at her. There were no signs of tears yet, but Stiles could see the makings of a tantrum brewing just under the surface of her scowl. 

“There’s a birdy outside! His wings hurt real bad but they won’t let me help him!” Laura stomped her foot, pulling her little arms back to fold over her chest. 

Stiles could see Lydia stepping towards Derek and Cora, a quick pleasant smile flashing over her face. 

“And why is that?” She leaned forward pursing her lips in a frown. Laura huffed, clearly more distressed at Stiles’ lack of worry for the injured bird than anything else. 

“If I touch him is it true his mommy won’t come back for him?” Now that, for a fact, Stiles knew wasn’t true. That was an old wives tale that even her dad had tried to pull on her when she was a kid. Before Stiles had even finished shaking her head Laura had turned around to face the Hales again, frown even more predominant now as she pointed angrily towards them. “You lied!” She shouted now, dangerously close to stomping her foot. 

Cora looked smug while Derek looked like he was about ready to snap his sister’s neck. 

“I’ll go find a box.” Lydia spoke up, capturing the attention of the entire room. She flicked her gaze between all four faces, looking at them like they were personally offending her. “For the bird?” And then it all clicked. 

“Right. Good call.” Stiles nodded, standing up and hurrying off towards the downstairs bathroom. She grabbed one of the hand towels and a pair of disposable gloves she kept in the lower cabinets. While the whole thing with ‘mommy bird never coming back’ wasn’t true, wild birds still carried diseases and insects. No way was she risking anything like that for herself or Laura. While Laura might have magic were wolf healing that probably shielded her from crap like that Stiles was still just a squishy sickness-prone human. No way was she catching any sort of weird bird-flu. 

By the time she wandered back into the kitchen Laura was faced away from the Hales, Derek was on one knee beside her looking almost apologetic while Cora leaned in the doorway smirking like she just won the Nobel peace prize. Stiles felt her eyes roll as she stamped down the urge to shoot her a dirty look and merely moved towards Derek and Laura. Lydia was still rummaging around in the pile of empty boxes off in the corner of the dining room. 

“Alright, short stack, let’s go find your bird.” Stiles reached her hand out, wiggling her fingers until Laura reached up to wrap her tinier ones around them. Derek stood to follow them, the group moving out of the house and towards the back corner of the fenced in area. Laura took off running then, dropping her mother’s hand in favor of squatting down to stare at the tiny form. Stiles hesitated, wincing at the odd shape the bird’s wing had taken. It didn’t even look like it was breathing at this point and oh God how was she going to explain that to— 

“It’s still alive.” 

“What?” 

Derek rose up a brow when Stiles turned her attention to him, nodding towards the poor thing. 

“His heartbeat is still strong.” 

“Oh—right. No, yeah, I-.” She shook her head, willing the jumbled up thoughts to just vanish on their own. “Thanks.” Stiles mumbled her gratitude before sprinting the rest of the way to Laura. “Hold on, sweet pea!” She kneeled down, sticking her hands under the little girl’s armpits and lifting her to the side where Cora was now waiting. The were removed the toddler out of Stiles’ hands again and balanced her on her hip as Stiles busied herself with snapping on the gloves before gently sliding her hand under the tiny bird and cradling it in her palm. The swallow, now that she was close enough to identify it, let out a small chirp but made no effort to flap out of her hand. 

Just then Lydia was on her other side, holding open the small box, she had already laid a hand towel down into, and waited patiently for Stiles to deposit the tiny creature. Stiles carefully placed the bird on the towel, careful not to touch the damaged wing more than necessary. 

“Mommy?” 

“He’s okay, Laur’,” She stood up then, turning to find that Laura was now perched on Derek’s hip, her skinny arms tossed lazily around his neck. She swallowed past the sudden Sahara that was her throat and took a few steps forward, tilting the box gently so Laura could peer inside. “See? We just have to bandage him up a bit.” 

Laura let out a dramatic sigh, dropping her head heavily onto Derek’s shoulder. Stiles kept her eyes on her daughter, pointedly avoiding the glances of the other adults around them. “Okay. Can I help?” She looked tuckered out, like Cora and Derek had drained any lasting energy out of the tiny girl from their games. Which was good, it meant when everyone had to leave Laura would be too tired to protest. Scott had told her it was probably a wolf thing, how she always seemed too distraught whenever one of her aunts or uncles had to leave. He had told Stiles it was probably her wolf urging towards a pack it wanted to belong to. Stiles figured it was just a toddler thing. 

Hopefully with the way Laura’s eyes were already starting to droop she wouldn’t put up much of a fight tonight. 

Stiles smiled, reaching out to brush a stray hair behind the toddler’s ear. “Of course you can help.” She turned stiffly and worked her way back towards the house, Lydia was right beside her, bumping their shoulders together once or twice, Cora and Derek right behind them. 

“Where’s your first aid kit?” Lydia asked as soon as they were through the threshold. 

“Upstairs bathroom, under the sink.” Stiles moved towards the dining room, removing all the plates and original set up she had laid out, placing all the utensils and dishes onto the armoire on the other end of the room. Derek had placed Laura on one of the chairs where she now stood, her tiny hands braced on the table in front of her. Stiles placed the box down, stepping around to crouch beside on one side of the chair. 

“See? He’s okay.” 

“Yeah.” Laura sighed plaintively. 

Lydia appeared again then, moving straight for the table. Over all it took about ten minutes and a good few attempts at keeping Laura from handling the little bird too roughly, but they eventually were able to get the wing bandaged and everything else situated. Upon Laura’s request, Cora had filled an eye dropper with water and Stiles had placed a handful of sunflower seeds into the shoebox. 

Stiles watched as Cora helped Laura to drip a few droplets of water into the bird’s mouth, arms crossed over her chest and a careful frown placed over her lips. She was a kid once, she knew what it meant to have something like this. A little buddy to help through a rough time, it was good for kids Laura’s age. It taught them about life and death, especially since half the time these little critters didn’t make it past the first night. But this bird--… other than the busted wing it was fine. There was a chance this little bird could pull through but, hello! Laura was starting preschool in the morning and Stiles was starting work. They couldn’t keep a small bird in the house unattended. No way was she letting that thing have free reign of the house; and no way was she letting it go to school with Laura. Wasn’t that illegal anyway? 

“Mommy, can we name him!?” 

Stiles snapped out of her thoughts, turning towards where Laura was now pulling on her pant leg. “Name him?” 

Oh, no. That was the one rule. You never named anything you brought in from outside. That was how you got attached and that was how the tears always happened. No. No way. 

“Sure, kid.” _Crap._

She couldn’t help the grin that broke over her face as Laura smiled up at her, all wide eyes and teeth as she bounded back towards where she had apparently been sitting right between Derek and Lydia on the table. While everyone’s attention had turned back to the bird in question, Derek’s eyes kept locked on Stiles. Stiles liked to believe she used to know his faces pretty well; she could tell an angry scowl from his default one, and his thinking frown from his _‘you’re an idiot’_ lip turn. But that was years ago. 

She shouldn’t have recognized the careful assessing look that was filled with apprehension so easily. 

Stiles cleared her throat, moving forward to brace herself on the back of one of the only unoccupied chairs. “So—got anything in mind, honeybee?” She choked down a pained laugh at how mirrored the frown on her daughter’s face was against Derek’s. 

Laura made a thoughtful sound, tapping one finger against her chin. The adults exchanged glances from time to time as she worked over names, her face moving from contemplation towards annoyance in one fell swoop. Aside from toys, Laura really never had anything to name before. She never asked for a puppy or a kitty, a fish or a hamster. Laura was never really interested in owning a pet, yet here she was saving baby birds and keeping them in a shoebox in the middle of the dining room. 

“Harold!” 

The room was quiet again, Laura smiling down at the box with pride as she repeated the name once more to the bird itself. 

Stiles looked up to see Derek looking at her with an expression that clearly read, _‘Is she being serious?’_ to which she only shrugged back helplessly. Fluffy, flutter, busy bird, tiny! She could have come up with any other typical toddler embarrassingly obvious name. But, no. Of course. Laura went with Harold. 

Yep, Stiles had one weird kid. 

“Sure, sweets!” She began, holding her arms out in an open gesture. 

“Harold it is then.” Lydia muttered, frowning slightly before turning away. 

“Harold Stilinski.” Cora commented then, hands settling on her hips. “Charming.” 

“No, Harold _Birdmen_ Stilinski!” Laura explained then, moving forward to peer down even further at the poor thing. Cora snorted and sat back down in her chair. 

“Birdmen?” Derek questioned, brows shoved up. 

“Cause he’s a _bird_!” The toddler supplied, waving her hands out in front of her. 

“Duh, Derek.” Stiles barely held back her smirk as she walked back towards the kitchen. Derek shot her a look just as she disappeared into the kitchen. She cackled quietly to herself. 

After that diner was practically uneventful. Laura insisted a few times on checking Harold from where Lydia had placed the box in the living room, but other than those few interruptions it went smoothly. Stiles was all caught up basically on Derek and Cora’s roles in the McCall pack and they were up-to-date on her college life, a few choice parenting details still left out though. 

The conversation wasn’t as awkward as it could have been and Stiles had Lydia to thank for that. Anytime they steered into unmarked territory she stepped in to put everyone back on track. She kept Derek and Cora from pressing for information and she kept Stiles from shoving her fork into her eyes anytime she almost put her foot in her mouth. But, how could she help herself? Even after years of being apart it was almost second nature to treat the Hales with about as much sarcasm as she could push out. 

As expected, Laura almost fell asleep on the table, clutching uselessly at her fork as she shoveled casserole into her yawning mouth. Stiles only had herself to blame really. She should have put Laura down for her nap before allowing her to run about with Cora but, anytime a member of the pack came around it was nearly impossible to put her down. It was like they were an extra battery pack that kept her running the whole day. 

“What about Harold?” Laura said into Stiles’ neck as she yawned again. 

“What about him?” 

“Where’s he gon’a sleep?” Laura pulled back, blinking tiredly at her mother for a few seconds. “He can’t go outside!” _Crap. Again._

“That’s where he lives though, Laura.” Lydia offered, plucking Laura from Stiles’ arms and holding her close. 

“He’s hurt! What if Mrs. Halick’s old cat gets him!” How quickly a four year old could go from dead to the world to angry at the world was almost astounding. 

“You have school in the morning, Laur’. He can’t go with you.” Laura looked about two seconds from one of her big meltdowns, the kind that usually ended with Stiles getting a few puncture wounds in her forearms and the loss of a throw pillow. “He’ll be fine, sweets! We’ll leave him right on the porch. He--“ 

“No!” At this point she was squirming in Lydia’s grasp, twisting and turning in her arms in a harsh attempt to fall towards the floor. “No!” She repeated loudly, as Stiles moved to grab her, the two women practically juggling her as she wormed her way around their grabbing hands. Laura let out an ear piercing shriek as Stiles finally got her arms hooked under Laura’s legs and held her upside down, at arms length. The best way to deal with a were baby tantrum, keep their little claws and teeth out of reach of anything important. 

“He can stay with us!” Laura was in the process of trying to bite at Stile’s knees when Derek finally spoke up, Cora beside him had her hands clamped over her ears, trying to block out Laura’s incessant yelling. But with just that sentence everything seemed to still. Laura quieted, squirming only slightly near Stile’s legs as all the adults seemed to stare at him in question. “Cora and I—“ He began, but judging by the skeptical look she gave him he must have changed his mind because then he was saying, “I can look after Harold while you’re at work.” 

Stiles felt as her eyes widen as he spoke. He was really willing to take the bird back to his house just because Laura started screaming? Well, Laura sometimes reached a certain decibel that hurt even Stiles’ human ears, it was probably ten times worse for him. But, seriously? One little tantrum and he was willing to take home a wild bird? Damn. 

“Really, Der’k?” Laura asked with a sniffle as she reached her arms out. 

“Yeah, really, Derek?” Stiles held her daughter out, still by her ankles, as Derek moved forward to grab her and pull her right side up. Immediately her arms tangled themselves around his neck. 

“Really.” His lips quirked up then and Stiles was totally counting it as a smirk at least. She narrowed her gaze though dubiously, watching as he nodded Cora over and they worked on packing away the little trinkets Laura began throwing their way. 

“He needs his water and his seeds. Oh! And maybe he wants a friend. I got’s this little parrot pop-pop gave me but Harold can have him for now so he won’t be so lonely at night. Do ya think he needs another blanket?” Stiles watched dumbly as Laura led Derek through the living room and bathroom, pulling out all these miscellaneous things she was certain Harold would need for his night at the Hale house. 

It was strange, really. Stiles was sure she should be freaking out. Derek and Cora were in her house. Socializing with Laura openly. No one was screaming or crying, Stiles was certain she’d be crying if this day ever came, or throwing anything. It was… calm. Strangely. Laura was smiling as she packed everything into a plastic bag Cora had acquired from the kitchen, and Derek was listening as Laura explained for the second time how much water to give Harold for breakfast. 

A hand fell on her shoulder and Stiles turned to find Lydia staring at her carefully like she knew exactly what was going on. Which, of course she did, she was Lydia! Lydia always knew everything that was going on in Stiles’ head. It was like she had some kind of creepy sixth sense about that stuff. 

Stiles moved about in a fog as they finally coaxed Laura into going upstairs with Lydia as Stiles showed Derek and Cora to the front door after at least a dozen promises that Stiles would take Laura to see Harold right after school; which, what? When had she agreed to that? 

Cora reached out and clapped Stiles on the shoulder, which was a motion Stiles would vow to every which way she did not initially flinch away from out on pure principal alone. Cora wasn’t tactile like that, with her at least. It was perfectly reasonable to shy away. 

“Uh—thanks. For, y’know, taking _Harold._ ” Stiles muttered to Derek after Cora had turned to step off the porch. Derek watched her carefully for a moment, gaze scanning over her face in a way that had Stiles wanting to shuffle in place. “It means a lot to her. Not that you don’t know that, I mean, you were here for all of it.” She rubbed at the back of her neck, grimacing at her own words. 

“It’s fine.” He finally offered, shifting the small shoebox in his hands. “It’ll give Cora an excuse to come around more often.” 

Stiles chuckled at that, nodding towards where Cora was climbing into her car with a scowl on her face. “Yeah, sounds about right.” She hesitated then, licking her lips before pulling her attention back towards the man in front of her. “And-- what about you?” 

The silence fell again as Derek stared at her with a certain degree of reservation that Stiles wasn’t sure how to interpret. Hell, she wasn’t even sure what answer she wanted to hear. Two weeks ago she could swear she hated Derek and now here she was letting him run about her backyard with Laura and making promises to stop by his house tomorrow, letting him take some hurt bird Laura had a heart for and practically asking if he wanted an excuse to keep seeing Laura, and Stiles, for Christ’s sake. 

She had no idea what she was feeling then. One minute she hated him, the next her gut was twisting and her heart was melting at the sight of him with Laura. But that was it. It was years of anger and guilt crashing down and finally letting all the secrets go. That was it. It was just the relief of seeing Laura happy with another familiar face from Stiles’ past. There was nothing else between them anymore, nothing more than Laura. 

End of story. 

“Mommy!” 

Stiles turned back towards the stairs. “Coming, Laura!” 

“See you tomorrow, Stiles.” By the time she turned around again Derek was stepping off the porch and moving towards his car. 

She stood still for a second watching as he placed the bag of supplies into the back seat and moved towards the front of the Camaro. Stiles frowned, closing the door with a soft click. With a suppressed groan Stiles leaned her forehead on the wood of the door for a second time that week and reflected poorly on what her life had become. 

Now, not only did she have Laura but she had a little bird to worry about and a possible family reveal to worry about _if_ Derek really did want to step up to the parent plate. If Harold decided to kick the bucket in the middle of the night how the hell was she supposed to explain that?! Yeah, it was a great lesson but she really did not want to deal with that meltdown. 

Maybe she could blame it on Derek and Cora. After all he was at their house. 

“Craaaaaaaaaaaap.” She groaned, banging her head once on the door. She couldn’t do that to them. 

“Mommy, can you tuck me in?!” 

“Coming!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Simple end, no cliff-hangers this time.   
> But another little piece to the puzzle. Anyone else ever try to help a little critter when they were younger? I tried to save an abandoned nest when i was a kid but the eggs never hatched.   
> Anyway, thank you all for your comments and your kudos so far. They really mean a lot.


End file.
